


Two Blondes and a Liquor Store

by MaddieFrickenClark



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV), Modern Family (TV)
Genre: Alcoholism, Because Maddie and Claire would be friends, F/M, FearTWDFamily!VerseAU, Strand and Thomas want to adopt, This is pretty random, This is very AU, alcoholic Claire Dunphy, alcoholic Madison Clark, and needed to write this, because Maddie totally killed Stephen, been watching Modern Family heaps lately, blonde alcoholic buddies, mentions of abuse, now they're Facebook friends, they have so much in common
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 13:58:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8670265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieFrickenClark/pseuds/MaddieFrickenClark
Summary: Madison Clark goes to liquor store, Claire Dunphy does the same, and over cigarettes and cheap liquor the two blonde mothers learn that have more in common than they would have guessed. FTWD/Modern Family crossover.





	

Madison Clark exhaled softly and shook her head. A bell chimed swiftly as she pushed open the door leading into a small liquor store. She glanced around, it was practically empty aside from the shelves lined with an array of coloured bottles. She wouldn't want to go around saying it, but in all honestly, Madison adored liquor stores. She'd probably spent a small fortune in them over the past thirty or so years, and just the fact that there was so much alcohol in such a small place, filled her with wonderment. She loved how there were so many separate escapes just inches from her fingertips. Madison Clark was an alcoholic, and she supposed that a liquor store, to an alcoholic, was what a toy store was to a young child. 

 

She walked further in, straight towards the spirits section. Vodka was her drink of choice, she loved the stuff, relished in its stiffness, the fact that just one bottle could waste her entirely. She also liked Scotch and Tequila, but they weren't quite as perfect as her first choice.

 

Quickly, she scooped a few bottles into the basket that was slung over her arm. She drunk cheap liquor, she was a guidance counsellor, and most definitely not a millionaire, so she couldn't afford anything better. She knew that she really should try to stop, that she should attempt to get sober, but she knew that she wouldn’t. She'd been addicted, hooked, a slave to the liquor she craved, for over thirty years, and that wasn't something that was going to change overnight.

 

She didn't drink for no reason. Abused as a child, she had first turned to the bottle, at about age thirteen, in an attempt to stifle the memories of way that she had been mistreated, sexually, physically and mentally, by her father. She'd continued drinking throughout the rest of her teens and well into her adult life. She had gotten married, in hindsight she supposed that that had been one of her biggest mistakes, but that relationship had left her with two bundles of joy, which she wouldn't change for the world. Her husband had been abusive, just as bad as her father, and for a good ten or so years, she’d barely gone a day without a new bruise. Even now, six years after his death, after she killed him, she was still covered in hundreds of faded scars. She wondered how she'd drawn such a short straw in life, why she'd been forced to endure all of this, if she deserved it.

 

It wasn't as bad as it had been anymore, well at least not since she had met him. Travis Manawa, a Maori-American English teacher, and just about the sweetest man that she'd ever met. He was stable, caring, compassionate, carefree and just about everything that she wasn’t. That also meant that he was way too good for her, and just the thought that he might one day realise this shook her to her core. Maybe that was why she was standing there at the liquor store, feeling more fulfilled by a shopping basket filled with bottles than she had all day.

 

She proceeded in strolling across the store, focused entirely on the wine section. She craved a bottle of something cheap, probably a red, because a girl couldn't just drink spirits alone. 

 

“Damn it!” Madison stumbled slightly as someone collided against her. She turned around slowly and glanced at the cause of the impact.

 

“Sorry, didn't see you there.” A tall, thin blonde woman looked at Madison. She was clutching a shopping basket identical to Maddie’s filled with a heap bottles.

 

The guidance counsellor examined the other woman, “that's fine, I'm just going to pay for these.” She motioned to contents of her basket and faked quick grin.

 

The stranger nodded slowly, before she turned away and began to pull some cheap Chardonnay bottles from a refrigerator.

 

As Madison strolled toward the cashier, she couldn't help but glance back at the other woman. Maybe it was the fact that she was blonde and middle aged, or maybe it was just because she was stocking up with cheap liquor, but for some reason she reminded Maddie of herself. The blonde swiped her credit card, a little over a hundred dollars lost to liquor. She wondered if she should just give up, softly contemplated what it would be like to die, asked herself if she'd be missed.

 

X-X-X-X

 

It was a still evening outside the walls of the liquor store. That was the thing about Los Angeles, Maddie decided, it never seemed to get too cold. It wasn't like it was too hot either, there was a nice breeze in the air and the sunset was in full bloom. A mess of warm oranges, reds and yellows intertwined neatly over the roofs of buildings and store fronts.

 

She knew that she should really be getting home, she had told her boyfriend that she was just heading back to the school to pick up some student files that she had forgotten. She didn't really need him knowing that she was at a little liquor store, didn't need him to know that she was fuelling her addiction. She also knew that as soon as she were to get home he would be eager please her. They hadn't been able to fool around properly during any of the breaks in the day and, to tell the truth, just the thought of Travis seemed to turn the woman on.

 

She needed a quick pick me up first, though. Subtly, she slipped down the side of the liquor store, her heels tapping softly against the cracked cement. She lived in a shit neighbourhood, it was hard to afford any better on her salary, but she didn't feel very threatened. She supposed that that might have had something to do with the pistol that was in her purse. Her boyfriend would die if he saw it, the fact that he was a real ‘Mr You Know How I Feel About Guns,’ being one of his only flaws. She'd always been a gun girl though, born and raised in Alabama, she'd taught herself how to use her dad’s gun. She supposed that it was a bitter irony that it was her dad, in the first place that she needed the gun to protect herself from. 

 

Once she was a little ways down the alley, she found a spot, and leaned against one of the liquor store’s brick walls. She pulled a bottle out of the large box the cashier had given her and peered at the label. Two dollar vodka, her favourite pastime. She'd bought some of the better stuff, too, but she wasn't planning on wasting that in a darkened alley. Swiftly, she loosened the lid and lifted the bottle to her lips. She let the liquor flow into her mouth, its smooth texture played softly with her tongue before it burnt at her back of her throat. She loved alcohol, fucking adored it, she had adapted to it so much that it no longer affected her much. She barely even got hungover anymore, which was great, especially when you went straight from a night of drinking to a session with a high school student.

 

After another few drinks Madison began to rifle through her handbag. She found a pack of cigarettes, removed one, and popped open her lighter. She quickly lit the end and held it to her pursed red lips. She inhaled, taking in a long puff of smoke. Just like with her drinking, she attempted to hide her smoking from Travis, as well. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him. Then again, she supposed he probably knew by now. Smelt it on her hair, tasted it every time he kissed her, he'd never said anything though. Travis was tolerant, she'd give him that.

 

She took another drag when she suddenly saw someone come around the corner. The blonde woman from inside the liquor store strolled down the alley and stopped meters from Madison. She was attractive, Maddie decided, tallish yet, ever so slightly, too thin. She was dressed in a button down blouse and some black business slacks, with black patent leather heels and dirty blonde shoulder length curls. The counsellor, herself, was clad in similar shirt, except her’s was unbuttoned ever so slightly. She was also wearing a black blazer and matching trousers, with some neat heels. Her hair was dyed a neat shade of blonde and it hung down to her shoulders in messy curls. 

 

She watched as the woman removed a bottle of what looked like cheap wine from her handbag. She twisted off the lid and began to sip the drink. She didn't really look like an alcoholic, but Maddie knew, better than anyone, that it took one to know one. 

 

“Hey, want a cigarette?” 

 

God knows what possessed the woman to call that out. She wasn't usually a very social person at all. 

 

The blonde looked up, a deer in the headlights expression gracing her face. She paused for a moment, as if to think, and then began to walk toward Madison. 

 

“I really shouldn't, I haven't had one in years and my husband hates cigarettes.” She spoke in an everyday Los Angeles accent.

 

“One’s not gonna kill you honey, and my boyfriend’s the same. What he doesn't know ain't gonna hurt him,” Maddie replied, her Southern accent thick in comparison. 

 

“Okay, just one.” She plucked a cigarette from between Madison’s thin fingers.

 

“Want to use my lighter?” Maddie queried. “And I’m Madison, by the way.”

 

“Thanks Madison, I'm Claire.” She breathed in her cigarette and smiled slightly at the other woman. 

 

“Tough day, huh?” Maddie queried as she puffed at her own cigarette.

 

“I suppose,” Claire paused and took a sip from the bottle that she was still clutching. “You see, I’m the manager of my father’s closet company and there has just been drama after drama today. I had to fire two staff members for drinking on the job, which is ironic because,” she shook the bottle. “I'm not the greatest influence when it comes to drinking, if you know what I mean.”

 

“I bloody well know,” Maddie sipped her Vodka. “I'm a guidance counsellor and if you knew how many students I've talked to about the importance of not drinking whilst I've had liquor in my water bottle you wouldn't believe me.”

 

Madison wasn't quite sure why she had just told Claire that. Maybe it was because the other woman just seemed so damn approachable, or, that she felt that she was able to talk to her without being judged. It also didn't hurt that she was probably just as drunk as Maddie and that she was a perfect stranger.

 

“I feel you Madison, I had to have a few mouthfuls before I could go through with sacking them. I then discovered an entire shipment of hinges were faulty and I spent a good two hours swearing into the phone at someone in a foreign country who didn't speak English.” She paused and ran some fingers through her dyed blonde curls, “how about you? What brings such a nicely dressed woman down a shitty alleyway at this hour?”

 

“Too hard to drink at home I suppose, especially at this hour, it'd be too easy for someone to catch me, and I don't need that.”

 

“Any kids? I have three myself, two daughters, twenty one and eighteen and a sixteen year old son. Definite handfuls and probably why mommy’s in the alleyway drinking.” She laughed suddenly, a loud, boisterous, piercing sound that was simple to see through. Claire definitely wasn't happy. She probably wasn't as haunted as Madison, and she honestly doubted that she'd ever killed a man, yet there was something strange about her. Something that Maddie was aware of even when she laughing.

 

Another swig and the bottle was finally empty. Maddie dropped it back into the box, she'd love another one, but she needed to drive home. She was probably over the limit by a bit but she was sure that she could make it home in one piece if she stopped now. 

 

“I have a son, he's nineteen, and a seventeen year old daughter. I may as well say I have two other daughters because they practically live at my house twenty four seven. One’s my daughter's best friend and the other’s my son’s girlfriend.”

 

“Well you better pray that they're not as troublesome as my trio. My eldest, she's something alright, she dropped out of college and now she's doing some weird ass job that involves social media and late night parties. My middle one, she's the bright one, definitely not a ditzy blonde like her mommy. She's got into Caltech, and is doing all this science crap that I have no idea about. Luke’s my youngest son, he's a sweetheart but he's a bit...goofy...to put it nicely.” She paused suddenly and tilted her head slightly to the side before she squeezed her large blue eyes shut, “I have no idea why the hell I’m telling you all this, you’re a stranger, I think I just need someone else who’s not family to talk to sometimes, you know? You're not judging me, Madison, and that's great.” She shook her head, “I bet you're regretting offering me that cigarette, aren't you?”

 

Maddie laid her hand against one of Claire’s shoulders in the same way she commonly did for students who came into her office at the school. “Not at all, I know where you're coming from entirely. I sometimes need someone to talk to as well. I've got my boyfriend, and he's amazing, but there’s just some things I don't want to talk with him about, you know? I've also got my gay, male best friend, and I love the man to pieces but at the moment his mind’s a blur with goddamn adoption plans as he’s looking at adopting twins with his partner. Being a mother’s tough, I get that better than anyone.”

 

“Gay male best friend, huh? I have a gay male brother and I remember when him and his partner first adopted their daughter. My God, it was all they talked about for what seemed like forever. I feel what you're going through, honey.” Claire was beginning to sound tipsier than she had sounded before. She stumbled slightly, her foot making a slightly garish noise, as she steadied herself against Madison. “Damn it, maybe I don't need anymore wine.”

 

The taller of the pair chuckled softly, “yeah, maybe not.”

 

The bottles now firmly planted at their feet, the women began to chat. Talking came naturally to the pair of them, clicking almost immediately, they felt a connection form quickly. Madison honestly liked the other woman, she seemed real, not fake, like the other mothers. It might have been the shared bond over alcohol or just the fact that they both had children, but they seemed to get each other. 

 

They discussed more trivial things, such as parenting styles and the fact that they both had children smarter than them, as well as more serious matters, mostly involving drinking and relationships. Oddly enough, Maddie also found herself showing Claire the tattoo on her ankle, which consisted of her children's names, to which Claire found herself laughing before she shared her own inked ankle. 

 

After what seemed to only be a moment, and in reality was over an hour, Madison and Claire decided that it may be getting a bit late.

 

“It's been lovely talking and all, very spontaneous, but I need to get home. Have to make sure the kids haven't driven the boyfriend insane.”

 

“Same here, I suppose. I need some mouthwash or chewing gum first though, we reek of smoke, don't we?”

 

“There's worse smells in the world,” Madison grinned. “It's been lovely meeting you Claire, honestly you're one of the nicest people that I have ever met in an alleyway next to a liquor store.”

 

“Now that's something I've always wanted to hear,” Claire shook her head. “But it has been a pleasure.” 

 

The counsellor laughed before she quickly dug through her handbag and removed a pen and a folded scrap of paper. She quickly scrawled: Madison Clark, blonde from liquor store, and passed it to Claire. “Look me up on Facebook, you have an account right?”

 

The woman took the paper into her thin fingers and grinned, “of course I do, it's the twenty first century. We might have to message some time, you can tell me more about your son and his little squad.”

 

Maddie nodded. The squad was how Nick commonly referred to himself, Alicia, Ofelia, Luciana and sometimes Chris, and it had sort of inadvertently stuck. “I definitely will.” She smiled softly at Claire, “I hope you have a great evening.”

 

“You too,” Claire suddenly stepped forward, arms wide, and embraced Madison in a quick hug. “See you ‘round, Madison.”

 

The hug released and the blonde scooped up her box, “goodbye Claire.”

 

X-X-X-X

 

Later that night, as Madison Clark sat awake at her kitchen table, bottle in hand, she heard her phone buzz. She peered at the screen. It read: Claire Dunphy has sent you a friend request. She felt a small smile slip onto her lips as she unlocked her phone, ready to respond. She tapped at her screen, of course she accepted.


End file.
